


Reunion

by Bee_writes_things



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, I just want Buck to have more people who care about him, Reunion, he deserves it, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:41:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29012964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bee_writes_things/pseuds/Bee_writes_things
Summary: Before he moved to South America and became a bartender, Buck was a farmhand in Austin, Texas where he met Grace and Judd Ryder. Now He's headed back to Austin to help fight the wildfires.OrBuck and Judd reunion fic for an AU that I made up a couple of hours ago
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Grace Ryder, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Judd Ryder
Comments: 5
Kudos: 247





	Reunion

Buck was beyond excited. He was going back to Austin for the first time in years and he couldn’t wait. He would be able to see Judd and Grace again, two people who in a way were his surrogate parents just like Bobby and Athena.

* * *

Years ago, back when Buck was only 22 years old he’d moved down to Austin, Texas in yet another attempt to find himself and figure out what he wanted out of life. Freshly flunked out of SEAL training, he decided that a good job to start with would be working as a farmhand. He was extremely fit, and being in Texas there wasn’t any shortage of farms to work at, it seemed like the perfect plan. And it really was.

Buck work on the Smith farm for a very nice man and his wife who paid well and were surprisingly flexible with his hours, despite how demanding farm work could be. 

One day, in the middle of Buck’s second week on the job, one of Mr. Smith’s friends came by to lend a hand on the farm. The man’s name was Judd. Buck and Judd worked together the whole day and by the time the sun had set they’d become friends. That night Buck was invited to have dinner with Judd and his girlfriend Grace.

Over the next two years, Grace and Judd were Bucks family. They had dinner together at least once a week, Grace and Judd helped Buck find an apartment, and Buck was even a groomsman at their wedding. Grace and Judd were Buck’s family in everything but blood.

But, as always Buck started to get restless. He didn’t want to be a farmhand for the rest of his life, he wanted something more. He talked about it to Grace and Judd, who were nothing but supportive of his choice to leave Austin and look for something new. Buck bought a plane ticket to Argentina that night.

A few days later Grace and Judd drove Buck to the Airport. “Don’t be a stranger kid,” Judd told Buck before pulling him into a hug while trying very hard to pretend he wasn’t crying.

“I won’t,” Buck replied, not even trying to hide his tears, “I’ll miss you.”

“We’ll miss you too Buck,” Grace told him before pulling Buck into a hug of her own, “we love you kid.” And with that Buck turned and walked towards airport security.

He hadn’t been back to Austin since.

* * *

He knew that he should probably tell Eddie and Hen that he already knew someone at the 126, but he’s not an open person. He has trouble talking about things. His feelings, his past, the people closest to him outside of his little bubble at the 118. They’d find out anyway when they got there, he had no real reason to say anything.

The drive was long, so very very long, way too damn long, but it was worth it to be pulling up in front of the 126. Buck hadn’t told Judd he was coming because he wanted to surprise him, and now he was buzzing with excitement and anticipation, and maybe an itty bitty bit of anxiety, but he was not gonna focus on that.

As Buck, Eddie, and Hen walked into the station, Buck scanned the floor for any sign of Judd before spotting him on the other side of the room talking to a young man. Buck picked up the pace, leaving an increasingly more confused Hen and Eddie in his wake. One Buck was in earshot, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled “Hey Judd!”

Judd spun around immediately, completely forgetting the conversation he was having with Mateo a couple of seconds ago. When he saw that it definitely was Buck who’d called his name, his face split into a huge grin. “Buck!” He called before rushing over and hugging his friend. They immediately started up a conversation, completely oblivious to the stares they were getting from both of their teams.

“How’s Grace?” Buck asked, he couldn’t wait to see her again.

“She doing great, she’ll be so happy to see you again. What are you doing here?”

“I came down with some members of my team to help fight the wildfires down here,” Buck replied. He turned to introduce Judd to Eddie and Hen, only to find them staring at him wide-eyed. “What?” His teammates both kept staring for a few more seconds before Hen recovered.

“How do you two know each other?” She asked.

“I lived here for two years working as a farmhand for one of Judd’s friends, we became friends not too long after I started working there.”

Before Hen, or anyone else could respond, Judd grabbed Buck’s attention and said, “you’re having dinner with us tonight.” When he saw that Buck was getting ready to argue he kept going, “no arguments, Grace and I haven’t seen you in almost five years, she would kill me if I didn’t drag you home for dinner, and then she’d probably kill you too.” 

Buck couldn’t help but laugh, “ya, you probably have a point there. Besides, it’s Friday.”

“What’s Friday?” Eddie asked from where he was standing, trying to ignore how he felt about Buck being so close to someone other than him.

“Back when I lived here Friday night was family night, I’d come over for dinner and we would all hang out. Unless Judd and Grace both had shifted, then we’d reschedule.”

It was at that moment that Cpt. Strand decided to interrupt and give an explanation about how the next few days would work.

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly, or about as smoothly as a day dealing with wildfires can go. Judd had called Grace after Cpt. Strands briefing to tell her that Buck was back in town. She decided to go all out for dinner and by the time Buck and Judd got back to the house, it smelled delicious.

As soon as he walked through the door, Buck found himself enveloped in a hug from Grace. “I missed you kid,” she told him, “you need to visit more often, ya hear?”

“Yes ma’am,” Buck replied. He gave her a cheeky grin as she slapped his arm. “I missed you too Grace, it’s so good to see you.”

They spent the rest of the night eating and catching up. The food was amazing and Buck was having a great time listening to Grace and Judd talk about everything that was going on in Austin. Buck realized that this was the happiest he’d been in a while, and he couldn’t wait to spend even more time with his family.


End file.
